I might have spoken too soon - I was the 10th person to sign up for the trip, meeting their quota, but two people dropped out today. The deadline for application is next Friday, so I hope that he can get some more people signed up.

Re: Sightseeing tips in Vienna?... It depends what you like, but I am assuming that you are a big fan of music

Seriously, dress up and visit the Bosendorfer factory/showroom, a 10 minute walk from the Opera house. Play on an Imperial Grand and let us know what you think?...

A sentimental favorite of mine was visiting the National Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) where you'll discover the graves of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Strauss (father & son), and a monument to Mozart. It's a 30 minute bus ride from the inner city. From the main entrance, you'll walk through beautiful gardens before you're in midst of the Greats. I think that it's a pilgrimage that every musician should make in one's lifetime. Last time I was there, I placed some flowers over Beethoven's grave. Prepare yourself, because I didn't. For me it was very emotional; it was as if I had journeyed to the Earth's core - the energy was surreal. As I gazed over the monument for the first time, the opening bars of the Eroica Symphony kept resonating in my head, then I calmed down to to the elegiac 2nd movement of the Pathetique. A sublime experience, and I can promise that you'll never play Beethoven the same way either.

The Opera House, Hofburg Complex, St. Stephan's Cathedral, Schonnbrun Palace, and the Musikverein are also very good sites. Don't forget to sample the pastry too!

I was there in Vienna and Salzburg for Mozart's 250Th anniversary and the summer music festivals 2 years ago. I do a lot of landscape photography on my trips, and for me it was a musical and photographic safari all in one.

Will you be touring outside of Vienna too?....

Lastly, buy a DK Eyewitness Travel Guide on Austria or Vienna - Best $20 you'll ever spend for any European trip as it is an exquisite compact guide - pictures, descriptions, maps, schedules, history, etc.

Vienna pastry is good, I was expecting jewels for the mouth. But it was not what I had expected. However, the pastries are not as sugary as in the US which makes them a helluva lot better than the crap made in this country.

_________________Madam, what makes you think that I play with my hands?

Thanks for the sight-seeing tips - most of the music stuff will likely already be on the itinerary, since that's the point of the trip (music culture). I think we'll have afternoons and weekends free, but not sure yet. Ugh, I hope we don't class too terribly early each morning...

If anyone is around and wants to meet for coffee or something, let me know!

May 29-June 12. I'm not much of a picture-taker, but my mom wants me to bring her camera and take pics, and this is the first picture-taking trip I've really been on since the pre-digital days, so maybe it won't be such a pain this time. I might even be able to upload them daily.

That reminds me of when I went to Germany a few years back. The first day, we went on a tour of Berlin in one of those double-decker buses. It was a nice day so we sat on top, but I was so tired from traveling and losing a whole night of sleep that I slept through almost the whole tour. My dad took pictures though!

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

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